Real Life Fitness Questions Answered

Should I lose more weight or can I start running now?

Hi, I am 14st 2lbs - just lost 5lbs. I have been reading that running is really good for people with high risk of osteoporosis but sometimes when I walk upstairs my knees hurt a little. I am 51 and started my menopause at 47. Should I lose some more weight before I use running as part of my exercise regime? I think I mean jog because I could not jog fast enough to call it running.

Our expert says...

Hi,

You are right in mentioning that running is a good exercise for reducing osteoporosis risk but as you have already outlined its impacting nature means its appropriateness needs to be considered to every individual.

I would suggest you start with walking for longer distances then you do already and looking to increase the intensity of your walks, (i.e. through inclines, the pace of your walking and possibly through the addition of extra weight from hand weights).

If you feel you are already an established walker then you could consider the next step which would be a walk – jog – walk format. Simply aim to walk for 3-4 minutes and then jog for 30 seconds to 1 minute before returning to 3-4 minutes of walking. This allows your body to start responding to the demands of the impact of running but allows recovery as well. Through this method you can pace yourself according to how you feel and slowly progress the amount and duration of your ‘jog’ components to effectively pace your progression and minimize the risk of knee pain and injury.

If you experience knee pain (or otherwise) at any stage then ensure you revert back to the stage before (i.e. a lesser duration of jogging or perhaps even jogging removed for a couple of weeks). The key thing is to listen to your body. If through the above mentioned methods you are unable to prevent your knees from giving you pain, then consider seeing a fitness professional to assess your biomechanics and provide some corrective exercises to support your progress to running.

Hope this helps

Kelly